Sustainable use of land in danger of wind erosion in Ukraine: stakeholder engagement

In the modern world overcoming the problems of soil erosion and the transition to the sustainable use of land, especially land involved in agricultural production, is impossible without the broad involvement of all interested and stakeholding parties in solving these problems. Dialogue with stakeholders is a key element of effective management at individual farm and state levels. Currently in Ukraine, there is considerable scope and need for significant improvements in this area as only a small number of companies (industrial, commercial) involved in the agricultural sector have developed stakeholder engagement tools, and only one is actively involved in dialogue with stakeholders. This paper presents research focusing on the village of Pishcha in Volyn region, Ukraine. It examines the theoretical and methodological aspects of: identifying key stakeholders, determining their interests (explicit and implicit) and the possible impact of these on the project; project preparation and implementation; the identification of apparent or potential conflicts between the interests of different stakeholders, and the possibility of reconciling these interests and establishing constructive relationships between them; the forms of participation appropriate to each of the stakeholders at each stage of the project cycle; and, the possibilities for the monitoring and evaluation processes, especially participatory methods that look to involve interested parties. The paper also sets out a provisional budget (facilitation needed, personnel and staffing required) for and discusses the feasibility of the implementation of the engagement process of stakeholders for the promotion and roll out of promising options for the sustainable use of land in danger of wind erosion in Ukraine.